The Thing Workers Say is Missing From Their Jobs

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Job security, compensation and relationships with immediate supervisors are just a few of the things that are making employees dissatisfied with their jobs. Despite that disappointment, though, 81 percent of employees said they were satisfied with their current jobs, new research has found.

Overall, however, job satisfaction among workers was down slightly from last year, when 83 percent of workers said they were satisfied with their jobs. 

"Economic, demographic and social trends are among the factors that influence job satisfaction," said Mark Schmit, Society for Human Resource Management's vice president for research who conducted the research. "Satisfaction peaked in 2009 when employees were just glad to have a job. Now we are seeing it trend down some, which may be an indication that employees are starting to look at other opportunities again as the job market is starting to turn a bit more positive. Proactive employers will monitor job satisfaction and introduce change to retain top talent ahead of the trend."

Even though the research found that workers were satisfied with their jobs overall, they were slightly less satisfied with certain aspects of their jobs than in past research. While more than 70 percent of workers said they were satisfied in their relationships with their co-workers, their ability to use their skills at work and their ability to contribute to the business goals of their company with their work, fewer than half of workers were satisfied with their career development. 

In fact, workers say that the ability to use their skills at work was the top factor driving their satisfaction at work. Being able to use their unique skills beat out job security, compensation and communication between employees and management as the top factors influencing employee satisfaction.

The research was based on the responses of 600 employees from companies of all sizes.

This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow David Mielach on Twitter @D_M89 or BusinessNewsDaily @bndarticles. We're also on Facebook & Google+.